Meet Matt

Matt has dedicated his career to empowering everyday Californians—children, families, and communities—through civil rights litigation and policy advocacy.

Matt was born and raised in Orange County, CA.

Matt knows that refugees and immigrants enrich our communities.

Matt's parents fled Communist Vietnam as child refugees during the Vietnam War. They arrived in America with minimal English and only pennies to their name. Through their own perseverance and the support of generous social programs that gave them the opportunity to succeed, Matt's parents built a better life for themselves and their families. Coming from a working-class background, Matt's father labored on the docks to put himself through college. During Matt's childhood, his mother taught him firsthand the importance of giving back through her nonprofit dental work for indigent children. Born and raised in Huntington Beach and Garden Grove, and humbled by their sacrifices, Matt understands that our country's greatness comes from its long history of weaving immigrants and their children into our nation's fabric, and investing in their future success as Americans.

Matt worked in Europe with UN Ambassador Samantha Power to combat the Ebola epidemic.

Matt has fought to ensure social, economic, and political opportunity for all.

Matt is an education rights advocate, and is actively involved with the ACLU of Southern California.

Matt is a tireless advocate for high-quality public education.

Matt believes an outstanding public education is a right guaranteed to all. In Governor Brown's office, Matt worked to promote sustained investment in our world-class higher education system, empower local educators, and improve K-12 public school funding. Through his community organizing for Teach for America, Matt inspired the next generation of leaders to teach in underserved schools across America. He has taught at Yale Law School, UC Berkeley, and K-12 public schools—including as a senior teacher for Edison High's Honors MUN program. He directed a nonprofit education rights clinic that represents students and families in landmark civil rights lawsuits challenging racial segregation in public schools, school discipline policies that criminalize children, and severe funding inequities in K-12 public education. Last year, Matt assisted the ACLU of Southern California in securing a historic $150 million settlement for public school students.

Matt is a proud alumnus of local OC public schools, including Edison High, Sowers Middle, and Peterson Elementary. He graduated salutatorian from the University of California, Berkeley, and will earn his law degree from Yale Law School as an editor of the Yale Law Journal, a recipient of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, and the only Vietnamese American in his graduating class. Matt has been recognized as an "extraordinary change-maker" by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and as an "emerging global leader" by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald. He volunteers for OC Boy Scout Troop 319, where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout.